


Horrors of Akuze: Aftermath

by DalishGrey



Series: Ashes and Monuments [6]
Category: Mass Effect Trilogy
Genre: Aftermath, Akuze, Dealing With Loss, Doctors & Physicians, F/M, Injury, Injury Recovery, Mass Effect 1, Ominous, One Shot, Origin Story, Pain, Safe Haven, Sole Survivor (Mass Effect), Space Stations, not sure what else to tag, secretive, short but essential
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-20
Updated: 2018-10-20
Packaged: 2019-08-05 00:46:07
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,152
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16357376
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DalishGrey/pseuds/DalishGrey
Summary: Alone. Isolated. But recovering. Heart ache awaits the 'Sole Survivor', but Anderson gives comfort, as they deal with the fact they are the last one alive.





	1. Recovery

**Author's Note:**

> It is a bit rough, and I will probably end up editing and adding to it afterwards, but for now it is what it is haha XD
> 
> I welcome comments and con-crit! In fact I encourage them! Haha :)
> 
> I hope you like it!

She blinked slowly, a short, sharp pain shooting across her forehead making her eyes ache. Greeted with little more than brightness, the light reflecting off the standard, hospital-grade white tiling, she reeled in dizziness.    
  
“Sir, she’s waking up.” A quiet, gentle voice stated. Slowly her surroundings faded into view; the rows of empty hospital beds, the muttering doctors that gathered at the end of the bed, and a very familiar face.    
  
“Ande-?” She tried to speak, her voice hoarse and catching in her throat, scratching, raw.   
  
“Save your strength.” He moved to sit in the chair beside her bed, his features painted with relief.  “You’re on Arcturus, you’re safe now.” He signaled for the nurse to bring her a glass of water, and    
Shepard drank it without hesitation, practically relishing in the near-ecstasy inducing feeling of having what felt like her first drop of water in weeks.    
  
“Thank you …" She replied, with a shaky sigh, her heart throbbing with a subtle, yet indescribable pain.    
  
“I know you need to rest, but you should know, sooner rather than later …" Anderson started, his look of relief shifting to one that made her heart sink, an expression of pure sorrow. “We canvased the entire planet, everyone … they’re all gone,  Shep. ” He moved uncomfortably in his chair,  clasping both of his in his lap. He cared for all of his marines, and though he understood the inescapable cost of warfare, more than most, he still cared for them. She knew it better than most would. “We had hoped that  your statement was an  exaggeration, but we never expected that it would be an  _under_ statement.”    
  
“We certainly didn’t expect any of it …”  Shepard blinked back the tears that threatened to show themselves. Guilt. The first thing she truly felt. Pure and unwavering. She glanced at the beds beside her. Shepard wished she wasn’t alone, she would rather they be there and injured, instead of not there at all.   
  
He pursed his lips and sadness washed over him, he knew her too well, and she was almost grateful for that.   
  
“I’m truly sorry about Daniel, he was a good kid and a promising marine, and I know you two were close so I can imagine what his death means to you ... _but_ I won’t beat around the bush, Brass wants to know what happened out there, however, I'll stall them for now and let you rest .”   
  
She thought back, hesitantly allowing the memories to reveal themselves.  Confusion and grief consumed her, flooding her senses in a relentless wave of unprocessed emotion. She couldn’t hold it back any longer, the fear and heartache still fresh in the forefront of her mind.   
  
“Thank you, Sir, ” Shepard began, lifting herself up with a pained groan, her hand moving to her bruised waist. Her gaze met his and she broke, her heart shattering as she thought about them, and how she let them all down. “And I’m sorry, I should have been more aware, maybe it wouldn’t have happened ..." she couldn’t continue, tears stung at her tired eyes, trickling down her cheeks and dampening the blanket.    
  
Anderson smiled softly in understanding and placed a hand on hers.    
  
“It’s okay, Shepard, it’s not on you, from what I saw down there …  no one could have been prepared for what happened down there.“  He rose to his feet, his brow furrowing. “Hackett needs me, but I’ll come and see you again soon, for now, I’ll leave you in their good care.” He stated as he turned to leave.   
  
She nodded with a forced smile and sank into her pillow, trying to ignore the agony that ebbed through her body in unending motions; every movement, inducing more pain. The door closed behind him and she closed her eyes, letting the fatigue draw her back under. Alone. Isolated. Of all the things she’d wanted to be,  _sole survivor_ wasn't on the list.  


	2. Sole Survivor

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Everything is not as it seems.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! I hope you enjoy this chapter and what happens next :)

[ - _Mission Update – Search and Rescue:_    
   
 _‘In the weeks following the massacre on_ _Akuze_ _, a search and rescue team was deployed to locate any additional survivors. Despite the extensive efforts, regretfully, no one else has been found; all remaining bodies have been salvaged and returned to their homeworlds for burial, and all dog tags have been returned to their families._    
   
 _At present, Lieutenant Nikola ‘Tessa’ Shepard is listed as the only survivor.]_

   
 _:0500 hours. Somewhere deep in the Terminus systems:_    
   
Darkness lingered, creeping over the sterile white tiles, crawling through the hallways like an ever-moving shadow. The young marine drifted in and out of consciousness, with heavy eyes and blurred vision, all they could comprehend was the flutter of that same darkness across the seemingly gaunt faces of the figures that loomed above. Their voices were little more than murmurs and hushed whispers, blending together as the marine’s tether on reality seemed to fade in and out, teasing and taunting.    
   
Then it finally became all too real.   
   
The mobile heart-monitor surged.   
   
Adrenaline. Pumping through his veins like gasoline, stirring fire in his chest that burnt his lungs and seared his throat. Light flashed behind closed eyelids, faded images of bloody, gaping maws that plucked horrified marines from the ground as though they weighed little more than the air in their own lungs. Memories or nightmares – too similar to tell. Laska called out for her team to fall back, her coarse voice laced with authority and fear.  _Sanchez_ , his body an unrecognizable pile of mush and shattered bone.    
   
Bile rose in his throat and he jerked awake, his body screaming in pain as the acidic liquid spilled from his lips, feeling nothing but agony as he wretched. The sterile scent of antiseptic filled the air as his vomit threatened to enter the cuts on his cheeks and chest; the ghost-like figures fought to restrain him, but despite his weakness, he struggled against them. Thrashing, he cried out for the pain to stop.    
   
“Hold him down!” One of the shadowy figures growled, “if he exerts too much, he’ll crash, we need him!  _Alive_!”    
   
He felt the bite and pressure of leather against his skin as they bound him to the gurney. Amongst the pain, he didn’t notice the small prick of the medi-pen until his body started to numb and his eyes grew heavy. As the fatigue crept in, he remembered, the bright green eyes that stared at him, tearful but strong, as he ran to distract their attackers, he never knew if she got away.    
   
“Did she … did she make it? Tess …" He mumbled as the urge to sleep pulled at his senses, and his surroundings slowly started to fade to black.    
   
“Don’t worry, she’s fine, and we’ll take good care of you too, Mr. Toombs.” Another of them replied, a small smile noticeable on the blurred figure's face, an unsettling smile that rose alarm bells within him, but he was powerless to do anything about his fears. “You’re safe now.”


End file.
